This week we had Pierre Tido of P&C Electric explain why your house may need rewiring. In the early 1960’s, there was a housing construction boom and the price of copper rose. In order to meet the demands of the housing market, they started using the wiring that had been successfully used in commercial building. Later it was discovered that the wire was failing to make connections because it was not designed for residential connections. Two common symptoms of failing wire connections are flickering lights and popping sounds. Pierre also explained that some insurance companies won’t insure a home with aluminum wiring!

P&C Electric has been in business for 4 years and focuses on both residential and commercial electric. Pierre does most of his business in Seminole, Orange and Volusia counties, but is happy to travel further if someone needs his services.

If you are looking for a dependable, reasonably priced and professional electrician, please reach out to Pierre Tido at P&C Electric!

Brian Tadros of the The Workers' Compensation Trial Group, P.A. Gives you the common red flags we see in a workers compensation case, Brian brings the perspective from both the workers side and representing the companies. Tips for both employees and employers.

This week we had Brian Tadros of the The Workers’ Compensation Trial Group, P.A. give us the common red flags or pitfalls seen in a workers compensation case, bringing the unique perspective that a lot of others law firms don’t have because they handle claims on both sides of litigation. This means they represent injured workers as well as employers and insurance companies. Whether you classify it as a red flag or a pitfall, depends on which side of the litigation you’re on.

One of these red flags or pitfalls involves “Notification to the employer of the accident or injury.” You typically have 30 days from that date that you’re injured to notify the employer that you’ve been injured on the job, however the longer you take to report it, the less credible they are going to find the report, which can create a delay in provision of benefits to you.

A common reason an injured employee delays reporting an injury is because they think the injury is minor and that it will get better in time. Brian stressed that you should always immediately report your accident to the employer and in writing if possible. Emails are a great way to do this. You want to document all communication and include who you reported the accident to, when you reported it and what you told them. An easy way would be to make a note in your cellphone. All of this information is very important in case the insurance company wants to contest that you provided timely notice.

Another reason an injury isn’t immediately reported is because the employee is afraid that they’ll get fired or reprimanded if they report the accident. Brian explained that there is actually a statute that specifically indicates that an employer is prohibited from discharging or threatening to discharge, intimidate or coerce any employee who reports an on the job accident.

Another red flag or pitfall involves, “Representations made by injured workers regarding their past medical history,” which is something Brian addresses with his clients at his initial consultation. Brian stressed that a lawyer should immediately speak to their clients about whether they’ve had a prior injury to that part of their body or whether they’ve ever received treatment or ever complained to their doctor about prior symptoms involving that part of their body. The reason for this is because that information is detrimental to their case and the lawyer needs to know everything up front so that if that information comes to light, the lawyer can adjust how they’re handling the case.

How this typically comes up, once a lawsuit is filed in worker’s comp, the injured worker will be set for deposition – a recorded statement taken under oath with a court reporter present. All questions and answers are recorded and later typed up. If there are contradictions with what is said in deposition and the insurance company can later show medical records that they’ve obtained that document that the information is contradictory, then they can have what is called a misrepresentation defense. Misrepresentation is when a false, incomplete or misleading statement is made in pursuit of benefits. Not only is this a complete bar to any benefits and worker’s comp, it’s also a 3rd degree felony. This can also come up with representations made by an injured worker to their doctor.

Misrepresentation often comes up when people don’t get a lawyer right away and they don’t understand the importance of making sure that these representations are accurate. Another time it comes up is when the lawyer involved doesn’t want to have a difficult conversation with their client on the front-end to make sure that they understand the totality of their past.

Brian then shared one of his favorite quotes from the case law pertaining to misrepresentation which is, “Honesty is not a luxury to be invoked at the convenience of a litigant.”

Finally, Brian shared that a good referral for him on the defense side would be an employer representative or an insurance adjuster who has the ability to direct who does their workers’ comp. A good referral on the injured worker’s side would be anyone injured on the job, typically who has sustained an injury to their neck, back or their joints.

An initial consultation with Brian is FREE and he explained that they don’t get paid unless they obtain a benefit from the insurance company, which is typically in the form of a settlement. Further, having a lawyer involved typically speeds up the process because there is added incentive for the insurance company to provide benefits to you.

If you’d like to view testimonials about Brian’s services, visit www.wctrialgroup.com and if you know anyone, whether it’s an employer, an insurance company or an injured worker that needs assistance with a workers’ compensation case, feel free to give them Brian’s cell phone number, which is 407-443-9308.

This week we had Kelly Sue Stonebreaker of The Stonebreaker Group at Re/Max Town and Country host “Quiz Time with Kelly Sue,” a fun 10 question quiz on little known facts in the real estate world.

The 10 facts that Kelly Sue shared were:

In the US, there are 5times as many vacant houses as there are homeless people.

Someone once traded a paperclip for a house.

Brass door knobs DO disinfect themselves.

There are thousands of homes built on top of an old World War II bombing range in Orlando.

Apple paid an elderly couple 1.7 million dollars for an acre of land when building one of their servers. It had been purchased 34 years earlier for six thousand dollars.

A typical home size in developing countries is 75 sq ft.

Using prefabricated modules, some builders in China are able to build 30 story skyscrapers in as little as 15 days.

In Scotland, homeowners paint there door red to signal they’ve paid off there mortgage.

Millenials make up 33% of home buyers in 2017.

Kelly Sue and The Stonebreaker Group ARE your realtors of choice when buying, selling or referring.

As you can see, Kelly Sue and The Stonebreaker Group are experts in Real Estate! If you’re thinking about buying or selling your home or know someone who is, definitely reach out to Kelly Sue and The Stonebreaker Group for all of your real estate needs.

This week Darcie Englert with American Home Team Realty spoke to us about ownership when you’re a Property Manager and all of the things you must be aware of as an owner and manager.

Darcie explains how investors, a lot of the time, will think that the cheapest option is the best option. It’s not. When you buy cheap, everything is cheap. There will be issues that you will discover. A patchwork job is not the answer. As a Property Manager, it is best to be honest with your owners. Darcie gave examples of how the owner should be informed and what they should be concerned about when it comes to owning a property.

As a manager, it is your responsibility to let owners know of any potential hazards in the home. This can mean anything from attic access to pools. Take precaution on how to avoid liability and be smart.

At the end of her presentation, Darcie reads a poem about the day in the life of a Property Manager’s world. It gives a good insight on what a day is like for her and other property managers in a fun light.

Are you a property manager who’s having trouble where you are? Or are you in the wrong place? Darcie would love to talk and potentially bring you on to the team. Visit their website today!

Meet our newest member of Professional Connections Group, Dominic Lucibello with Breakthrough Fitness!

Dominic has been in Oviedo since 2008, with a degree from Florida Atlantic University he jumped into the personal training industry and found he could not stand it, from there he opened his own business in 2010. Breakthrough Fitness has been teaching and training the “Top Fitness Trends of 2016” since they opened and he plans to share that with the world.

Dominic shared the foundation of his business with us and that being the “Four Pillars of Fitness” – support, consistency, effort, and the enjoyment of the process. Fitness should be a lifelong endeavor.

Pillar 1 – Support: Dominic expressed that in order to be serious about getting your results and seeing those changes happen, you need support. This has helped shape his vision for his facility. He explains why adults need support, life can get busy, and at Breakthrough you can find that support through coaches and fellow members. Everyone trains together at Breakthrough Fitness and the fitness enthusiasts usually find themselves leaving the facility because Dominic and his team mainly focus on those who are new to the fitness world and find ways to support them.

Pillar 2 – Consistency: If you want to look better? Eat right. Feel better? Positivity. Feel good physically? Movement. Move better? Repetition. Dominic and believes that you can achieve consistency through coaching, whether that be personal or group. He also keeps his consistency by providing education through weekly blogs and social media posts, keeping everyone in the conversation.

Pillar 3 – Effort: “Results aren’t guaranteed, they’re earned”. At Breakthrough Fitness there is no sugar coating anything. When you have a good facility the effort comes easier, too.

Pillar 4 – Enjoyment of the Process: The process is the payoff. There will be lows and highs but that what the process is about!

The four pillars are interdependent, when you put the four of these together you will last longer in the fitness game.

If you’re looking to start your fitness journey at a facility that focuses on these pillars, visit Breakthrough Fitness’ website today!

This week Jim Gordon with Beers & Gordon, P.A. Civil Trial Attorneys spoke with us about What to do After an Accident”. Although their firm does not do many slip and fall cases, he gives a bit of advice on what to do when that happens. If you are to slip and fall in a store or restaurant, you need to take pictures. If you are injured you will need to have the evidence behind your slip and fall. You should also obtain an incident report from the store or restaurant the incident occurred.

Like a slip and fall accident you want to gather the same amount of evidence, if not more, in an auto accident. Before anything else, get the witnesses information; officers often forget to write down the witness information which can be extremely important in a case. Next, take pictures at the accident scene, take as many as you can. For example, some vehicles get taken away and you will want those pictures of all vehicles and even skid marks on the road. Jim also mentions the importance of the damage underneath the car. Jim has employees who will go out to the accident scene and 3D scan the car and then determine what happened in the accident electronically.

You want to preserve as much evidence as you can, and the worse the accident the sooner you will want an attorney on scene. Jim gives us great examples of past cases and the importance behind them and how you can benefit from what he has learned and worked through. He emphasizes again to document everything.

This week David Forman with Clarity Creative Group gave us “5 Questions to Ask a Web Developer You Want to do Business With”. He starts off about how you should ask to see recent projects, not just the visual side but the data behind said projects so that you can find out the type of traffic they’re bringing in and if they can help move up your website. Second, you should ask what amount of work is done in-house compared to outsourced work as it can be difficult to get all parties on the same page when it comes to your website.

Next, you want to know how much of your website you can personally edit. Good developers can help a “non-coder layman” edit. At Clarity Creative Group the websites are client focused, editable, simple, and straightforward while a lot of companies do not create user friendly back end sites. The steps at Clarity might take longer but it makes it easier for the client to be “website-centric”. Then you want to ask what SEO tactics they work into the initial design; this is because you want to find out the technical side of your website. Whether that’s keywords or a redirecting technique, you want to appease the search engines. Finally, you should ask the developer/marketer what do they do to see the success of your website. Some developers are afraid to look at data, every project should have analytics and tracking. This helps you learn your ranking.

This week’s presentation comes from Kristen with Quality AC Services. She educates us on the Smart Thermostat. The pros and cons, how they work, features, and cost. She begins with explaining a few fun features about a Smart Thermostat with how you can set the temperature and change it throughout the week remotely, the thermostat can learn from your behavior and preferences. Also your energy use and how the thermostat adjusts to things like humidity. According to Kristen, it is affordable and energy efficient, and if installed in your home it could increase its value. As long as you have WiFi you can adjust your temperature from anywhere with a Smart Thermostat. Kristen also gives tips on what you should know before buying.

For more information on Quality AC Services, visit the website for more information!

This week Justin Cough with Oviedo Chiropractic educated us this week on the importance of his work. Oviedo Chiropractic is in their third year of business in the area. They are constantly growing with upwards of thirty patients a day. Dr. Cough prides himself on the education he provides his clients, he is very thorough when describing and teaching different techniques. He touches on doing chiropractic work on children. The youngest he’s performed on was two weeks old. This is because the birthday practice is intense and sometimes parents want their children to be aligned from the get-go, he does mention it’s not the same popping and cracking as he would use for adults. He also brings up one of his massage therapists, Whitney, she explains how she works in synergy with Dr. Cough. Once he performs his service Whitney comes in and uses a muscle energy technique so that the muscles do not go back to what they were before.

Dr. Cough and the staff at Oviedo Chiropractic want to ensure that every patient is fully taken care of, if you have any questions, a call is always free! Visit the website today for more information!

John Canonico with Brightway Insurance educated us on the importance of claims and premiums and knowing what to do when you file them. Brightway Insurance has been local to the community for five years and is growing faster every year. John isn’t going to try and sell you insurance, he is ready to provide you options with your claims so you can make an informed decision.

John and the people at Brightway Insurance are willing to help you make the correct decisions on your insurance. For more information, visit the website today!